My homemade tater tots (AJC Staff)
At least it is according to Twitter and Facebook, which means it must be true. Here’s a story about the natural history of Tater Tots that I wrote two years ago.
The Tater Tot held its debutante ball, fittingly, at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. The swooping post-modern structure had itself just debuted in 1954, signaling the country’s interest in new forms, new conveniences, new luxuries — all financed with infusions of postwar cash.
The coming-out event wasn’t actually a dance in honor of a frozen food, but rather a breakfast at the National Potato Convention being held at the hotel. One attendee — F. Nephi “Neef” Grigg of Ore-Ida Foods in Idaho — had smuggled in a satchel of what would be his greatest invention.
As Grigg recalls in his papers, he “bribed … the head cook … and arranged to have the Tater Tots cooked, placed in small saucers and distributed on the breakfast tables for sample treats.”
The response?
“They were gobbled …